Folium: 5 Insane Ways Words Can Control Your Mind via Cracked.com
Folium: 5 Insane Ways Words Can Control Your Mind via Cracked.com
5 Insane Ways Words Can Control Your Mind via Cracked.com
There’s something that you realize after your first few linguistics classes. Your perception of the world is shaped by the words you use to describe it. We can only understand those things that we are able to express to others, in our own system of communication.
Do indigenous Amazonian tribes have words for snow? It doesn’t seem likely does it? So what would they do once they came in contact with ice and snow? We dance around unfamiliar ideas using something called circumlocution – the way of identifying something through descriptions and actions. If we don’t have a word for snow, we describe it using words like cold, wet, white, melting, and more.
We must accept the fact that the words we use limits our perception. This is the fallacy of monolingualism. Only having one system of expression also only gives us one system to turn to when we don’t completely understand things.
Americans have a habit of believing in the superiority of the English language, as the apex of human communication. We should be wary of this concept and instead embrace the idea that languages are better used as tools, things needed to accomplish specific tasks. Below, I’ve linked an article that show how meetings and greetings differ from across the world. They all say “hello”, but their specific meanings reflect the evolution of their cultures.
There are things that are just impossible to process in English. Like yelling “olé” at a bullfight or “¿Qué onda?” when meeting your Mexican friends.
Learning many languages gives you many tools to express yourself. Check out the articles below to learn more!
Are there expressions in other languages that just don’t work in English? Give us some examples in the comments below!
